Preparing enchiladas can be a multihour, labor-intensive endeavor. There’s the sauce to prep and the filling to cook, and finally, all the rolling. We wanted to find a way to streamline chicken enchiladas and make them freezable so that they could be prepared well ahead of time and stored at the ready. For successful Freezer Chicken Enchiladas, we began by freezing the rolled enchiladas and sauce separately; otherwise they turn into a mushy mess. Spraying the tortillas with vegetable oil cooking spray and briefly heating them helped make them pliant enough to roll easily. We were sure to bake the enchiladas while they were still frozen, as defrosting them led to a dried-out texture once baked. For authentic flavor, we pureed and “fried" the sauce until the flavor and color had intensified. Most Mexican sauces are prepared in this fashion.

SERVES 4 TO 6

Use leftover cooked chicken or a store-bought rotisserie chicken in this recipe. Note that you won’t need 1 1/2 cups of the cheese until you bake the enchiladas. Serve with avocado, pickled jalapeños, shredded lettuce, and/or sour cream.